Combined waste grab eliminator and oil reservoir



1949 c. E. MELKER 2,490,314

COMBINED WASTE GRAB ELIMINATOR AND OIL RESERVOIR Filed Oct. 12, 1946 2Sheets-Sheebl Dec. 6, 1949 c. E. MELKER 2,490,314

COMBINED WASTE GRAB ELIMINATOR AND OIL RESERVOIR Filed Oct. 12, 1946 2Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Dec. 6, 19 49 COMBINED WASTE GRAB AND OIL RESERVOIR Charles E.Melker, Havelock,Nebr. Application October 12, 1946, Serial No. 703,04310 Claims. ((31,.308-89).

The present lnventionrelates to improvements in combined waste grabeliminators and oil reservoirs.

More particularly the present invention relates to improvements inbearing brasses such as are used in the journal boxes of railway carsand the like.

The present application is a continuationeinpart of theapplication'illed September 12, 1945, Serial :No. 615,770, nowabandoned,:by :the present applicant.

According'to practice whichhasbeen common:

up 'to the present time thebearing brasses, particularly at highspeedeor over :rough track, have.

a tendencyto float or to..jump.- intermittently, and while they arethusimomentarilyxoff :the jamnal, particles of waste fromithe mainjournal box or the packing'inthe bottom .oftheboxare. apt to follow thejournal. inaits rotation, and locate themselves-inthe crown of thebrass, .forming what :is known :as waste grab, which, in turn, causesthe. bearing 'to,run.:hot. Another problem which confronts operators ofrailway cars and the like is lubrication of .then bearings.

Whenthe journalvcomes-to rest, oiL'tends to flow from the crown thereofand more .or less complicated means have I been autilized for providinglubrication.

An objectof. the present'inventlon is, to. provide a simple :devicewhich ;;may-be.;applied nto journal bearings as now known :and i usedwhich will be effective in minimizing *waste grab.

A further object is torprovide azsimple device readily applicable tobearing 'brasses now known and used which will prevent :theepassa'ge offoreign matter to "the location-at the :crown of the-brass- A furtherobje'ct'isto provide -a .device wlhich is-simple,.sturdy, and cheap-tmanufacture, and

which may be-readilyapplied.tosbearings as now known and used forpreventing waste grab.

A further object is;to-;providea device for minimizing wastegrab whileadapted-to-meet-the needs 1 of commercial service.

A further object to provide an improved device which will not onlyminimize waste grab but which will provide an efiective reservoir'forlubricant.

Further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

.Referring to the drawings-e -Figure ,1 is a sectional viewtaken alongthe plane indicated by the .:arrows I of Figure .2,. showing more unlessdiagrammatically ,the E'usual construction of journal box;

Figure 2 is :asectional view taken along the plane indicated-by thearrows 2-2 of Figure 1 and illustrating an embodiment of the presentinvention;

Figure 3is'a view onan enlarged scale taken alongthe plane indicated bythe arrows 3-3 of Figure -2;

Figure :4 is a view: of a-bearing brass embodying the presentimprovement, said figure illustrating one comb-likemember located in itscorresponding -slot, the :other slot having its corresponding -comb-like:member omitted therefrom;

Figure-5 is a view of a cOmb-like device :for

use insthebearinghbrass illustrated in the preceding :figures Figure=6is .ai'viewzsimilar tozFigure 3 but-illustrating a modification;

Figures 7-and s-areviews similar'to Figures 3 and 5,*respectively,-t.butillustrating another modification; and;

FigureQdS a fragmentary-view similar to part of Figure -2 butrs'howing*a further modification.

The numeral' ln indicates a railway car axle having the journal ll,-said journal ll having at one of its 'extremitiesthefillet l2. At itsouter extremity said journal is provided with the annular shoulder l3,connected to the journal l'l throughthefilletlt; Mounted upon thejournal ll isthebearing brass IE-"which has its extremitiesiocated @inthe .fillets l2 and I4. The nu-. meral l-6x-indicates a box wedge ofusual construction, and the-numeral '11 indicates a journal box whichmay be of usual construction.

Disposed-longitudinally of the bearing brass l-t'vare apairzrof slotsI-8.-I8 communicating with the bearing faceaof' the brass. Said slotsare located on the two sides of the vertical planewhichincludes'thezaxis of the journal ll. Preferably'the slots *l8l8st0pshort of the end tof the bearing brass l5 adjacent to the fillet l2,that is, adjacent'to the-inner end of said brass. Said 'end provides 'an'end "wall 18a for each of the'slots 18, I8. Locatedin each of theseslots is acomb-like'or toothedimember l9 adapted to havebearing-engagement with the journal ll. Each of said members l9'l9may bemadeof metal, or *othersmaterial. Preferably the toothed membersl9--I.9-"arerformed of suitable material of sufficient zweightyto enablethem to maintain gravitational contact-;with the journal. As willbeclear from Flgure -,2,- saidcomb-like members :19. -have a certain;amount of play within their corresponding slots .l.8. In other words,the dimension of each of said slots is in a direction normal to thebearing surface of the brass is is greater than the correspondingdimension of the comb-like member l9. Communicating with each slot l8 onthe side thereof distant from the vertical axial plane (indicated by thenumeral 20) is a groove or well 2| for the accumulation of particles ofwaste or other foreign matter.

The construction of each of the comb-like or toothed members I9 will beclear from Figures 3 and 5. It will be noted that each of said membersI9 is provided with a plurality of spaced teeth 2222 extendingthroughout substantially ber 19.

Ordinarily it will doubtless be preferred to rely merely upon gravity tohold the members Ill-I9 in bearing engagement with the journal However,it may be preferred to use a spring or similar device for urging eachmember l9 into engagement with the journal ll. Figure 6 illustrates aspring 23 having this function. a

In assembling the device, the members 19-19 will be placed in the slotsl8-l8. The end wall |8a and the fillet M will prevent each comb-likemember [9 from being displaced endwise from the assembly. The comb-likemembers l9 will have a certain amount of vertical or radial play intheir corresponding slots l8-l8 and will simply ride on the journal I I,being kept in contact with said journal by their own weight, or, ifpreferred, by means of a spring or the like, such as indicated by thenumeral 23 in Figure 6. The comb-like members l9--l9 readily catchstrands of waste, but allow oil to follow the journal, passing throughthe openings between the teeth 2222 up to the crown ofthe brass [5, sothat lubrication is assured when the journal is being rotated.

The present invention has the advantage that in addition to a waste grabeliminator, it provides a reservoir for oil adjacent to the crown of thebrass. This advantage results from the fact that oil will cling to theteeth of each comblike member I9, being located between the teeth 2222thereof. This effect is probably due to surface tension or capillaryattraction. To achieve this advantage the spacingbetween said teeth 2222should be co-related' to the viscosity of the oil to the extent thatsaid teeth should preferably not be spaced too far apart to permit theoil clinging thereto to bridge the spaces between said teeth. For thetype of oil ordinarily used in the journal bearings of railway cars andthe like, the spacing between the teeth may vary within wide limits.This oil clinging to the comblike members l9 between the teeth thereofis instantly available when the journal is put in rotation.

In adapting the present invention to journal bearings as now commonlyused, it is a simple matter to cut a standard brass with the two slots|8-l8, terminat ng at the end walls l8a, l8a, or, if preferred, saidslots may extend the length of the bearing surface, the combs l9, l9being correspondingly extended as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8. Thecomb-like members l9l9 are then placed in the slots Ill-l8 and the brassIS with the members l9-l9 inserted therein is placed on the journal inthe usual manner. The grooves or wells 2l-2l serve as reservoirs for thecollection of particles ofwaste material. It is a simple matter to cleanthe device.

If preferred, means can be provided for limiting downward movement ofthe comb-like niemthe art. It is intended to cover all suchmodifications that fall within the scope of the apthe length of thecorrespondingcomb-like mempended m What is claimed is: 1. A journalbrass having a pair of T-shaped slots communicating with its bearingsurface at regions disposed on the two sides of the crown of saidbearing surface, and gravity actuated means located in said slots forstopping the passage of waste material along said bearing surface.

2. A journal brass having a pair of T-shaped slots communicating withits bearing surface at regions disposed on the two sides of the crown ofsaid bearin surface, and gravity actuated means located in said slotsfor stopping the passage of waste material along said bearing surface,said means comprising T-shaped toothed members.

3. A journal brass having a pair of T-shaped slots communicating withits bearing surface at regions disposed on the two sides of the crown ofsaid bearing surface, said slots stopping short of one end of saidbrass, and gravity actuated means located in said slots for stopping thepassage of waste along said bearing surface.

4. A journal brass having a pair of T-shaped slots communicating withits bearing surface at regions disposed on the two sides of the crown ofsaid bearing surface, extending the length of said brass, and gravityactuated means radially slidably located in said slots for stopping thepassage of waste material along said bearing surface.

5. A journal brass having a pair of T-shaped slots communicating withits bearing surface at regions disposed on the two sides of the crown ofsaid bearing surface, said slots stopping short of one end of saidbrass, and gravity actuated means radially slidably located in saidslots for stopping the passage of waste material along said bearingsurface, 'said means comprising T-shaped toothed members.

' 6. A journal brass having a pair of T-shaped slots communicating withits bearing surface at regions disposed on the two sides of the crown ofsaid bearing surface, extending the length of said brass, and gravityactuated means radially slidably located in said slots for stopping thepassage of waste material along said bearing surface, said meanscomprising T-shaped toothed members.

7. A journal brass having a pair of T-shaped slots communicating withits bearing surface at regions disposed on the two sides of the crown ofsaid bearing surface, and gravity actuated means radially slidablylocated in said slots for stopping the passage of waste material alongsaid bearing surface, said brass having wells communicating with saidslots at the sides of said slots spaced from the crown of said brass.

8. A journal brass having a pair of T-shaped .slotscommunicating withits bearing surface at regions disposed on the two sides of the crown 7cof said bearing surface,. and gravity actuated 5 means radially slidablylocated in said slots for stopping the passage of waste material alongsaid bearing surface, said means comprising T-shaped toothed members,said brass having wells communicatin with said slots at the sides ofsaid slots spaced from the crown of said brass.

9. A journal brass having a pair of T-shaped slots communicating withits bearing surface at regions disposed on the two sides of the crown ofsaid bearing surface, and gravity actuated means radially slidablylocated in said slots for stopping the passage of waste material alongsaid bearing surface, said means comprising T-shaped toothed members,the distance between the teeth of each of said T-shaped toothed membersbeing no greater than that at which the oil ordinarily used in journalbearings for railway cars will cling in bridging relationship betweensaid teeth.

10. A journal brass having a pair of T-shaped slots communicating withits bearin surface at regions disposed on the two sides of the crown ofsaid bearing surface, and gravity actuated means radially slidablylocated in said slots for stopping the passage of waste material alongsaid bearing surface, said means comprising T-shaped toothed members,said brass having wells communicating with said slots at the sides ofsaid slots spaced from the crown of said brass, the distance between theteeth of each of said toothed members being no greater than that atwhich a the oil ordinarily used in journal bearings for railway carswill cling in bridging relationship between said teeth.

CHARLES E. MELKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

